Milacron manager Elsass dead at 58

December 4, 2012

BATAVIA, OHIO (Dec. 4, 12:10 p.m. ET) — Mark Elsass, a 36-year veteran of Milacron LLC, died Nov. 23, the day after Thanksgiving. He was 58.

Elsass held a variety of positions since he began working at Milacron in 1976. Most recently, he was manager of applications and technology service, leading machine demonstrations, field process support, screw design and technical sales support.

“On behalf of everyone at Milacron, I’d like to express our deepest sympathy to Mark’s family. He was a mentor and friend to many of us here and a vital part of our success over the years,” said Dave Lawrence, Milacron’s president of worldwide plastics machinery for injection, extrusion and mold technologies.

Calling hours are Wednesday Dec. 5 from 4-8 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church in Milford, Ohio. The funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday Dec. 6 at the church.

His contributions made a major impact on Milacron’s product design. He played a key role in developing the company’s servo-electric motor, and all-electric machines. He also played a crucial part of Milacron’s global expansion, and was instrumental in the startup, training and ongoing technical oversight of the company’s India operations.

Early in his career at the machinery maker, he worked as a runoff and field service technician. He has worked with all types of Milacron equipment: the blow molding, extrusion, injection molding and reaction injection molding product lines.

He spent four years as supervisor of process development, where he managed design of injection feed screws.

Milacron issued an obituary statement Dec. 3.

“Mark was a great person, a dedicated worker and our go-to-guy when it came to processing expertise,” Lawrence said. “He was the authority we would turn to internally when we needed help resolving processing issues or questions.”

Elsass often helped customers. He also shared his expertise through articles, technical papers, trade shows and symposiums.

“Mark was constantly working with customers to help them get the most out of their machines and molds,” said Steve Allen, Milacron’s director of marketing operations. Allen joined the company the same year as Elsass.

A graduate of Miami University of Ohio, with a degree in engineering technology, he held a patent for coinjection machines. He was active in the local Society of Plastics Engineers group. An enthusiastic sports fan, especially of baseball, friends recalled that Elsass had a fondness for obscure trivia. He enjoyed playing golf, basketball and tennis.

He is survived by his wife, Sandy, and children Joshua and Caitlin.

“Mark made an impact on many people during his life. He will be greatly missed,” Lawrence said.